You don't make an omelette without breaking a few eggs, and you don't switch hardware cycles without throwing cash around like it's going out of fashion. The arrival of next generation consoles will be a time of hope and promise, a time of bold concepts and massive initial sales spikes. It'll also be a time of massive commercial trauma, as business paradigms shift under the strain of new technologies and fluctuating audience tastes.
Where Xbox and Xbox 360 were separated chiefly by processor specs, output resolutions and memory allowances, Xbox 360 and Xbox 720 could be worlds apart. Features mooted for Microsoft's next console include augmented reality glasses, a powered-up, built-in Kinect and comprehensive touchscreen integration via SmartGlass. The old console revenue model may be on its way out, too, giving ground to smartphone-style monthly subscriptions.
There will be an element of continuity, of course. For all the buzz around the growth of free-to-play and the benefits of dumping discs, consumers may not be ready for digital-only gaming, and our broadband infrastructure certainly isn't. You'll still be able to buy boxed games in stores, albeit in diminished quantities, and many of those games will be familiar. Series like FIFA (well on its way to becoming an online service), Battlefield, Assassin's Creed and Call of Duty should bridge the generational gap with barely a hiccup, and we can probably expect second tier sellers like Resident Evil to return too.
Not every IP has the scale to endure punishing next gen licensing, marketing and development costs, however. Some videogame franchises or would-be franchises are already looking dangerously sickly, incapable of keeping up with new technical and commercial priorities. Here are a few of the ones we're worried about.
18 comments so far...
Clanger67 on 13 Jul '12 said:
Of those i would definitley like to see another Silent Hill and Mirrors edge.Despite the SH games losing their way a bit story wise i did like Homecoming.Another ME would be fantastic especially next gen.if they could improve the combat a bit but keep the parkour aspect and improve on it.
msbhvn on 13 Jul '12 said:
I like Bulletstorm and the comments in the CVG article rightly say that it's stupid to blame piracy for low PC sales when it was a shoddy console port. It didn't set the world on fire on the consoles either. I think it suffered from the fact that it was yet another FPS. The skillshot system is unique and fun, and the OTT characters and hammy dialogue are a laugh, but it's still yet another FPS. There are way too many FPS's for a new franchise to get a foothold and I'm convinced that all the major publishers keep half finished FPS games around until they can find a unique selling point and finish them up quick.
Mirror's Edge needs to die. I'm sorry if you like it but there are absolutely no redeeming features in my opinion. Stupid controls, overpowered enemies and reliance on forward leaps where you can't judge distances all add up to major frustration.
bamozzy on 13 Jul '12 said:
Personally I would NOT be devastated by the loss of any of those game franchises - although I would like a few of those type of games to be replaced by a new IP in that genre. At the end of the day - regardless of former glory - I just want a decent game to play. I don't particularly care IF that is the continuation of a franchise!
Clanger67 on 13 Jul '12 said:
Yeah but you are talking about all the things from the first game.They wouldn't make it exactly the same for next gen.I had no prob. with the controls or any of the Parkour.I concede the enemies and combat was a bit shit but that just felt tacked on because maybe it would have been called boring if it was just Parkour.The timed challenges are great as well.
SidTheSloth on 13 Jul '12 said:
Crackdown is the only one i'd really lament. Games that are just 'fun' are in such short supply nowadays, and although not to everyones taste, i found the ability to leap buildings, climb tall ones, throw cars and kick helicopters incredibly liberating. I suspect the fun and freedom factor of both Crackdown & Saints Row went some way towards ensuring GTA IV seemed a somewhat pedestrian affair in comparison*...
*imo, GTA IV fans, know there's loads of you who love it etc. not getting into all that again, just saying.
msbhvn on 13 Jul '12 said:
MS dropped the ball with Crackdown 2, messing the developers around, saying it was DLC, then "oh can you make it a full game by last week? kthxbye".
Trouble with the fun sandbox games like Crackdown and Saints Row is that the main storyline seems boring in comparison, "you mean I have to stop killing everyone in sight and streaking and do a mission? f*** that, where's my giant dildo!"
schwepterbrowser on 13 Jul '12 said:
I found Crackdown anything but fun... The only one I'd really like to see a sequel to is Mirror's Edge - was the rumour that there was a next-gen Kinect sequel ever dispelled?
Plamsa wing on 13 Jul '12 said:
Quite liked Crackdown, only problem with Crackdown 2 was the zombie, mutants or whatever you want to call them felt a bit shit. Where were the giant mutants you fought durings mission at night?
I don't understand why people are so fixated on Mirror's Edge, I know I played it but apart from running, I actually can't remember much of it.
sonicmark on 13 Jul '12 said:
Tbh, I was never expecting a sequel to any of those games, Silent Hill seems to be an already dead in the water kind of game according SH fans.
Crackdown should never have gotten a sequel in the first place, as fun as first game was, it would've been better left as a standalone kind of game.
Steel Battalion was ok but the controls were a little too disorganised and essentially made players feel like they should have an extra set of hands.
Bulletstorm is a charmer as it is on it's own so therefore shouldn't be given a sequel.
Mirror's Edge wasn't left in the best positions to propose a sequel and was another game that was good as a standalone game.
Shemnue is a game that a lot of people want but will most likely never ever get so it's pointless saying it'll survive when it hasn't even risen back up yet.
Ninja Gaiden 3 was left without talks of a sequel, so why would it want to survive?
Kingdoms of Amalur was just one of those games that was thrown out as a gamble I think.
GTRogers on 13 Jul '12 said:
Out of those I only want a mirror's edge sequel. Yeah it might not have had the best combat and other stuff but it was fun and refreshingly different, not just another game to add to the endless list of same-y modern day fps (Although I do like battlefield
)
Grummy on 13 Jul '12 said:
Silent Hill, I think, is a game that WILL see next gen, but it'll be a long wait and will get the uber reboot with a new developer and a whole new approach, similar to how Tomb Raider has been rebooted. I don't expect it to play like TR of course, but I DO expect it to get the same treatment some point down the line.
Crackdown was utterly awesome and deserved and exceptional sequel. unfortunately, the one it got was crap. Tbh, I don't think Microsoft was ever truly behind the franchise though, despite how well it did and how much potential it had. It is one that I, unfortunately, must agree is not going to turn up in the future, and it is a crying shame.
Mirrors Edge I am completely happy to see go as I hated everything about it.
Decent_Jam on 14 Jul '12 said:
On page 3 where you said you're not sure Microsoft will be back, did you mean Crackdown Ed? Just gave me an image of the dev being left out in the cold while MS abandons them!
I'm not surprised by any of these choices. I do feel bad for Mirror's Edge, but at the same time I couldn't finish it so in a way I'm part of its downfall.
steve_2003 on 14 Jul '12 said:
The only franchises I would really miss out of all of those are Crackdown and Mirrors edge, two games that I've really enjoyed and would like to see done well on Microsoft's next-gen console. Shenmue would also have been great, but I never thought I'd be seeing it again anyway.
Baryonyx on 14 Jul '12 said:
Bulletstorm was great. To see that fall by thr wayside would be a great shame as the IP was fresh and fun to play.
Silent Hill will probably slope away quietly. The series has been on it's knees for years, it's time to let it go with some dignity rather than letting tin-pot Western studios churn out tedious games with the SH badge on the front. The Silent Hill name has been utterly mismanaged, the biggest mistake Konami made was letting anyone outside of Japan make SH games. The Japanese understand horror in a way the western world can only dream of.
pauloselhombre on 14 Jul '12 said:
Looking at what we know of RE6 so far I'm sad not to see RE on this list.
Rnald on 14 Jul '12 said:
I wouldn't particularly miss any of these, especially Crackdown which was pretty much awful in all respects.
GallifreyDog on 14 Jul '12 said:
The only one of these I have played is Mirror's Edge. I hope Mirror's Edge has a sequel, theres so much potential. Better combat would be nice - the movement is very fluid but breaking momentum for fighting is quite annoying, I'd like to just walljump, spin into some guy and kick him off a building rather than stop to try and steal his weapon.
Baryonyx on 15 Jul '12 said:
Yes, the RE6 demo is good, but it doesn't feel amazing. Hopefully this will be addressed. The demo is a great beta test bed.